Tuesday April 16th - Twinned with Bergen

I went along on a Twinning Visit to Bergen leaving Pembroke just past midnight on Tuesday 16 and returning on Saturday 20th.  I had never been on a twinning visit before and have to say I was impressed with our counterparts in Bergen.  Lovely people, so hospitable and they took such good care of us and showed us around.

We visited Belsen where our Mayor, Mel Phillips laid a wreath on behalf of Pembroke Town Council accompanied by Burgermeister Rainer Prokop, a moving moment which all felt deeply. Afterwards we went to the Becklingen War Cemetery for another moving ceremony. Our Mayor on behalf of Pembroke Town Council and Cllr Brinn on behalf of the British Legion,  with the Burgermeister again in attendance, placed wreaths on the memorial while bugler Neil MacIsaac played the Last Post so beautifully. It was so sad seeing all those brilliant white grave stones uniformly arranged in rows, so many young lives lost.

“I found both visits to be unbearable and heart breaking experiences” Mel told me afterwards “Having said that I do truly believe that everybody should visit these dreadful places once in their lifetime, as a reminder of man’s inhumanity to man.  As the great poet and author Rudyard Kipling once wrote.  ‘Lest we forget’